


something wicked that way goes

by thunderylee



Category: Japanese Actor RPF, Kanjani8 (Band)
Genre: Canon Universe, F/M, Magic, Mpreg, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-05-04
Updated: 2012-05-04
Packaged: 2019-01-21 10:52:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,771
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12456108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thunderylee/pseuds/thunderylee
Summary: For a second Ryo starts to reconsider this life choice, then he realizes that this isexactlywhat he needs





	something wicked that way goes

**Author's Note:**

> reposted from agck. written for mini_ryo 2012.

“This isn’t exactly what I meant when I said I wanted to hang out with you guys again,” Ryo says as nicely as he can as he wrinkles his nose at his surroundings.

“Ooh, you should get the pink one!” Yamapi says, predictably, pulling the onesie from the rack (of other pink ones, Ryo notices) and tossing it into the cart.

“Sorry, Ryo-chan,” Jin says airily, not sounding sorry at all as his eyes light up at a pair of little booties shaped like cupcakes. “I’m going to be a father; I can’t just sit around and drink anymore.”

“I get that,” Ryo goes on, keeping his distance from the two and their overflowing cart of pink items. (He doesn’t have to ask if Meisa’s having a boy or a girl, though from the looks of things he’d think it was Jin and _Yamapi_ having a baby together.) “ _I’d_ like to be drinking, at least.”

“Ryo-chan, when’s the last time you had a girlfriend?” Yamapi jumps in, and Jin snorts.

“When have _you_?” Ryo shoots back, defensive. “The most intimacy you’ve shown anyone in the past six months was with that old truck.”

“Hey,” Yamapi says, his jaw firm. “Don’t call Akkun an old truck. He’s so much more than that.”

Jin pats him on the shoulder and distracts him with something shiny  —  literally, as Ryo feels the need to pull down his sunglasses at the sequined sleeper Jin holds up. Naturally Yamapi grins and puts it in the cart, and Ryo amuses himself with the knowledge that Jin’s wife will make them return half of this shit. He doesn’t know her very well, but no woman in her right mind would dress her daughter like a disco ball.

“I shouldn’t tell you this,” Jin tells him later, as he’s cramming the bags into the backseat of his car, “but Anne-san asked for your number.”

“Since when do you talk to Anne?” Ryo asks, remembering his co-star from last summer. She was okay, even if she was too tall for him. She didn’t rub it in his face _too_ much.

Jin rolls his eyes. “She was just in a drama with Kame, remember?”

“Since when do you talk to _Kame_?” is Ryo’s next question.

Laughing, Jin flips open his phone. “Who do you think introduced me to Satsuki? Kame’s the ideal matchmaker since he has no interest in keeping any of the girls for himself, if you know what I mean. Do you want me to have him give her your number or not?”

“Yeah, sure,” Ryo replies with a shrug. “It’d be nice to see her again. She was fun.”

“Watch out,” Jin says with a wink. “You could be the next one to drag us baby shopping with you.”

“I will _never_ do that, trust me,” Ryo assures him. “Both of your tastes in clothes are atrocious.”

“You’re so mean, Ryo-chan,” Yamapi says with a pout. “You’d be a mean father.”

“Nah,” Jin disagrees. “Ryo’s a softie. He’d turn into pudding the second he looked at his mini-me.”

Ryo watches the stars form in Jin’s eyes as he obviously thinks about his own unborn daughter and feels a little jealous, but just for a second. “That’s a long time away, anyway. You basically ruined any chance of the rest of us marrying before we’re forty.”

“Says the one starring in a drama about it,” Jin points out. “Maybe I’m just paving the path for others to follow.”

Yamapi frowns. “There’s no one I want to have a baby with right now.”

“Because trucks can’t reproduce,” Ryo chides, laughing as Yamapi gives him a half-assed punch to the arm. “I don’t even know,” he goes on thoughtfully, remembering Anne’s smile and her long, long hair. “Anne doesn’t seem like the motherly type at all.”

In response, Jin flashes his wedding ring. “Kuroki fucking Meisa. I rest my case.”

Ryo’s glad when he gets home and the baby clothes aren’t smothering him in the backseat, physically and metaphorically, but he still spends the next couple days checking his phone for a call that never comes.

*

“Nishikido-kun,” Kame’s voice says smoothly on the other end of the phone line. “To what do I owe this honor?”

“Were you lying about Anne wanting my number?” Ryo blurts out. “Because if so, you’re a dick. I thought we had grown up just a little from the days of your ridiculous AkaKame pranks, and I don’t appreciate–”

“Calm _down_ ,” Kame cuts him off, sounding like he’s shifting his phone as he heaves an exasperated sigh. “I forwarded the text Jin sent me with your number. Maybe his dumb ass got it wrong or something.”

Kame recites Ryo’s own cell number to him, and Ryo frowns. “That’s right,” he says slowly. “You mean she just hasn’t called me? It’s been like a week!”

Now Kame’s hiding a laugh. Very badly, since Ryo noticed. “I’m sure she’s just busy. Do you want me to text her again? It will probably make you look desperate, just so you know.”

Ryo glares at his own living room wall. “What the hell.”

“What, do girls usually stop what they’re doing to call you?” Kame asks, his tone only a little condescending. “She has work, too, just like us. It’s been awhile since she told me she wanted your number, anyway.”

“Did she even respond when you sent it to her?” Ryo huffs. “What if she didn’t get it?”

“No, but she usually doesn’t reply unless you ask her a question,” Kame answers. “She’s not the small talk kind of girl, but you know that, right? You’ve worked with her, too.”

“We didn’t spend a lot of time together off camera,” Ryo admits. “I’m not… that great with girls.”

“Aww,” Kame says, and Ryo wants to punch him through the phone. “That may work in your favor, though,” he adds quickly. “She was bitching about the last guy she dated who tried to _own_ her and, like, make her walk behind him and shit.”

“What kind of douchebag does that?” Ryo asks, making a disgusted face.

“Who knows,” Kame replies. “Anyway, I’ll text her again about something else and see if she has any interest in calling you. If not, I’ll let you know so you don’t go on waiting.”

“That’s… nice of you,” Ryo says skeptically.

“Yeah, well, I’m a nice guy,” Kame tells him. “Just be good to her, okay? She deserves better than the assholes she’s put up with lately.”

“I don’t think it’s possible for me to mistreat a woman,” Ryo thinks out loud, remembering how hard it had been to play Sousuke. “You don’t have anything to worry about, _Niichan_.”

Kame laughs outright this time. “You ought to be more concerned about her than me,” he says. “I didn’t say those other guys walked away unscathed.”

For a second Ryo starts to reconsider this life choice, then he realizes that this is _exactly_ what he needs.

*

“I’m surprised you agreed to meet me here,” Anne says casually as she layers Ryo’s arms with another article of clothing she wants to try on. “Most guys wouldn’t be caught dead shopping with a girl.”

“I’ve been to the baby depot with Jin three times this week,” Ryo points out. “And I used to be in a band with Masuda. _Nothing_ can be as bad as that.”

Anne smiles and Ryo melts a little. “You’re cute. Now your job is to tell me what looks good, and you’re not allowed to say that it all does. If you can do that, I’ll let you take me to dinner.”

“Works for me,” Ryo replies. “It’ll be the easiest date I’ve ever earned.”

Being an idol — particularly for Johnny Kitagawa — means that Ryo has worn a lot of eyesore outfits in his career. Sometimes he feels like if he sees another fur-lined parka or sparkled denim, he’ll scream, and not just during the chorus of Code. The same proves true for particular patterns and color sequences, though his toleration has desensitized over the years.

Anne looks surprised the first time he informs her that something clashes, or isn’t flattering to her skin tone, but she takes his advice and after an hour, he’s comfortable enough to just speak his mind.

“That shirt is giving me epilepsy,” he tells her bluntly, cringing at the spirals that don’t stop spinning in his eyes.

She bursts out laughing, the spirals turning the other direction as she bounces. “Is it really that bad?”

“If I’m going to look at your chest, I’d rather not get nauseous,” Ryo answers, then realizes what he just said. “I mean, you know. If I were a pervert.”

Now she’s doubled over in hysteria, but his embarrassment lessens when she leans up to shake her head at him. “This is the most fun I’ve had shopping for clothes in a long time.”

“I only have to do this once, right?” Ryo asks, trying not to look too hopeful.

“Oh, I don’t know,” she replies airily. “You’re just so _good_ at it, I may want to make you my regular shopping companion.”

Ryo feels all of the blood drain from his face, but Anne’s eyes are sparkling mischievously.

“Got ya,” she says with a smirk. “I only have one more, then we can go.”

Relieved, Ryo sinks into the leather chair parked outside of the fitting room and waits for her to change. When she comes out, he sits straight up, entranced by the soft blue sundress and how it hugs her curves… and gapes open in the front.

“It’s a little big in the shoulders,” he manages to tell her.

She looks down and shrugs. “I can take it in.”

“You sew?” he asks skeptically.

“You could say that,” she says cryptically. “Other than that, what do you think?”

“Beautiful,” Ryo answers honestly, only feeling a little cheesy.

Scoffing, Anne gives him a knowing look and turns back to the dressing room. “You don’t have to flatter me. I’m already having dinner with you.”

“I’m trying for dessert,” Ryo calls back, half serious.

A couple hours later, when their cheesecake remains untouched while Ryo’s knees do not, food is the last thing on his mind.

*

She may be taller than him, but that doesn’t matter when his back is on the mattress. He’d be pleased that they’re so sexually compatible if she hadn’t just thrown him down onto his own bed; instead, he’s just pleased that she’s in his bed at all, let alone on top of him.

“I should have done this last summer,” she breathes between fire-hot kisses, lips crushing together and tongues tangling with a small hint of wine flavor.

“Yes, you should have,” he tells her, hands grabbing her hips and pulling her closer against him.

She straddles his waist and gives a firm grind downward. “Don’t get cocky.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Ryo says sarcastically, and Anne kisses him harder. He feels her fingers hooking underneath the hem of his shirt and pulls away long enough to let her yank it over his head, then carefully repeats the action on her and presses his mouth to her chest as it’s exposed.

“Ryo,” she gasps, arching into his lips, and she’s the one to unhook her bra in the back and replace the lace in his face with flesh.

Ryo just groans, flicking his tongue until he finds a nipple and grows even harder at the faint sound that reaches his ears. She’s quiet in bed, it seems, which just means he wants to hear her even more. His hands slide around to the front of her pants and he deftly unbuttons her fly, his fingers lingering a bit on her backside before pushing the rest of her clothes down her slim legs. He can’t stop touching her, soft skin scattered with goosebumps as the night air chills her, and he rushes to warm her up.

He finds her wet and hot and she moans again when he slips a finger into her, his own breath hitching when her body latches onto him. His mouth falls from her breast as she leans down, capturing his lips again, and she pants into their kiss as swift hands open his jeans. The first touch to his cock has him adding another finger, bending them and flicking his wrist in contrast with her own movements, speeding up when she tightens around him.

“Ryo,” she says again, her voice cracking, and he doesn’t even _try_ to speak. He kicks his jeans off enough to suffice and she’s on him, over him, yanking his wrist so hard that it would hurt if all of his focus wasn’t in his dick, which is instantly submerged in a canal of contracting muscles and all he can do is thrust up into it.

“Anne,” he breathes, and she fuses her mouth to his. Her tongue is like a cyclone and he doesn’t even try to keep up, content to lay back and let her ride him, just how he likes it. How she likes it, too, judging by the confident way she’s bouncing on top of him, taking full control and bringing him with her. His hands rest on her hips, but not to guide her; he couldn’t even if he wanted to. It’s so hard and fast that he needs something to hold onto.

Her low voice groans into his mouth as he feels her start to come, and he makes the effort to buck up to hit her deeper. She thrashes on top of him but doesn’t stop, retaining her rhythm the whole way, and her skin is shining when sweat when she breaks their kiss to lean back, arching her body and Ryo can see all of her lowering herself onto his cock over and over.

He opens his mouth to speak, but all that comes out is a moan, and she smirks at him as she snaps her hips back and forth in doubletime. He watches her eyes close, her mouth falling open as she builds up to another orgasm, and this time Ryo’s with her. Embarrassing noises are escaping with each breath and he can’t bring himself to care, because Anne’s inner muscles are squeezing his dick and there’s nothing he can do to stop it.

“Mmm,” he hears Anne mumble from somewhere in the back of his coherence as his body tingles from its release. “Submissive. I like it.”

Scoffing, Ryo stretches underneath her and forces open an eye when he feels her roll off of him. “I never know what to say in these times.”

“‘Anne, you’re the best I’ve ever had’,” she tells him, deepening her voice, and Ryo laughs. “It’s true, right?”

“Of course,” Ryo answers without thinking. He doesn’t know if he’s lying or not, but he’s not about to compare his past sexual partners right now. “Stay the night.”

He’d meant to pose it as a question, but he’s too exhausted to vocalize his thoughts clearly and Anne lifts an eyebrow at him before her face softens into a smile. “Okay, but you’re making breakfast.”

As he falls asleep in her arms, Ryo thinks he could get used to these compromises.

*

Dating Anne, in Johnny’s Jimusho, is equivalent to walking on water. Much like a high school (which is an apt comparison, being as the agency is full of teenage boys who never quite grew up), word travels fast and everyone knows by the next time Ryo goes into work.

“Dokkun, I’m proud of you,” Yoko says seriously, and Hina rolls his eyes from next to him. “You’ve finally settled down.”

“We’ve been on _two dates_ ,” Ryo argues.

“Which is one more than you usually bother with,” Yasu points out from Ohkura’s lap.

“The man has a point,” Subaru chimes in.

“Ryo-chan must really like her,” Maruyama comments as he stands next to Ryo and leans his elbow on Ryo’s shoulder. “‘Girls are too much effort’, isn’t that what you said?”

“That _is_ what he said,” Ohkura inputs, and Ryo wonders why they always have to gang up on him.

“It’s not effort with her, though,” he tries to explain, shrugging off Maru and ignoring his inevitable pout. “It’s easy, like. She makes decisions and tells me what she wants. I don’t have to read her mind. It’s nice.”

“You mean she does all of the work,” Hina translates, and Yoko snickers. “I bet she even tops you in bed.”

Ryo says nothing, but knows his face gives him away.

“Damn, you hit that already?” Yoko says, sounding impressed. “I hope you wrapped it. Don’t need another Akanishi in the company.”

The other five nod, and Ryo makes a mental note to have his manager buy some condoms. “Yeah, of course,” he lies smoothly.

Anne’s not irresponsible, he spends the rest of the day telling himself. She has to be on birth control or something.

 _You’re on the pill, right?_ he ends up texting her that night, unable to think of anything else, and his entire future flashes before his eyes in the forty-seven minutes it takes her to respond.

 _Something like that_ , she answers, and Ryo doesn’t need the details. The relieved sigh he heaves is bigger than he is, and he wishes her a good night and sleeps with absolutely no stress weighing him down.

Life is pretty fucking good.

*

“What,” Meisa deadpans, glaring at Ryo over her giant bowl of fried pickle ice cream with hot sauce drizzled all over it. “I’m pregnant; I can eat what I want.”

“That is the grossest thing I have ever seen in my life,” Ryo tells her, because Jin’s wife isn’t subjected to his usual awkwardness around girls. As far as he’s concerned, she’s just one of the guys, one who happens to be having Jin’s baby, even if he doesn’t know what the fuck to call her anymore. (Meisa? Satsuki? _Mrs. Akanishi_? Continuing to call her Meisa in his head makes life easier.)

“You look a little green, Ryo,” Yamapi comments from across the room, and Ryo spares a thought to Yamapi actually noticing something before he starts to feel more than just a little green.

Luckily the bathroom isn’t far, and the only good thing that comes out of his retching is that he can’t hear Meisa and Jin’s ridiculous argument about Ryo taking his disgust over her choice of dessert too far. He feels someone kneel behind him and knows it’s Yamapi from the gentle way he pulls Ryo’s hair back; not that he has a lot of hair to get into his face, but it’s a nice gesture nonetheless.

“Did you catch the flu again?” Yamapi asks when Ryo’s stomach is empty, and the hand rubbing circles on his back is calming.

“Apparently,” Ryo gets out. He reaches for some toilet paper to clean his face, but Yamapi’s ready with a warm washcloth. “I’m sorry, but you guys should leave.”

“Jin already took Satsuki home,” Yamapi tells him. “She can’t get sick, you know.”

“You, too,” Ryo presses. “The big time solo artist can’t get sick either.”

“Shut up,” Yamapi chides, but his touch is still soft. “This wouldn’t be the first time we’ve had the flu together.”

Something sharp twists in Ryo’s abdomen and he clutches it, groaning in misery while Yamapi hugs him around the shoulders from behind. “I feel so weak,” he gets out.

“You’re small enough for me to carry,” Yamapi says, and Ryo only glares a little as Yamapi lifts him effortlessly and brings him into his bedroom. “Do you need anything? Water?”

“I don’t know,” Ryo says honestly, his hand still applying pressure to the cramp. “This isn’t like any flu I’ve had before. I don’t even feel nauseous anymore, just exhausted.”

“Sleep, then,” Yamapi tells him, leaning in to press his lips to Ryo’s forehead, and Ryo’s tired enough not to swat him away. “Doesn’t feel like you have a fever. I’ll stick around in case it gets worse, okay?”

“Thanks,” Ryo mumbles, and he can’t even bring himself to care when the other side of his bed dips with added weight.

“Don’t worry,” Yamapi says, a hint of malice to his voice. “I won’t try anything. I don’t like lazy bed partners.”

“Fuck you,” Ryo shoots back, but his heart isn’t in it.

Yamapi’s airy, high-pitched laughter is enough to lull him to sleep, and in the morning, he feels a lot better. He goes to drama filming and makes it almost the entire day without throwing up, politely asking for a break when he feels it start to come on a little after dusk. He’s worked in much worse conditions; he can handle a testy stomach. And an oddly uncomfortable abdomen, but it’s not exactly _hurting_ him. Probably just a strangely located ball of stress. If it gets worse, he’ll go see a doctor.

He’s surprised to see Anne at his apartment when he gets back past midnight. “How did you get in?”

“Magic,” Anne replies shortly. “Ryo, we need to talk.”

“Oh my god, you’re pregnant,” Ryo gasps, grabbing onto the back of his couch to keep from falling over.

“No,” she replies, taking a deep breath before staring him right in the eyes. “You are.”

*

“I don’t believe this,” Ryo says, swaying in his stance until Anne guides him to sit on his own sofa. “I’d think you were fucking with me, but there really is something…  _in_ there. I feel it.”

“It’s my father’s protection spell,” Anne says sheepishly. “He cast it on me when I was a teenager, to curse any man who impregnated me before marriage. But he couldn’t bring himself to harm any potential future grandchildren, so he just had the fetus transferred into the man’s body, figuring that was punishment enough.”

“Your father,” Ryo repeats, remembering who Anne’s father _is_ and that makes this even more fucked up. “So he’s magic, too?”

“My whole family is,” Anne explains. “It goes back for generations, though some aren’t practicing anymore. I am one of them, except I have been known to cheat when it comes to things like alterations and cooking.”

Ryo remembers the cryptic conversation about hemming her clothes, and suddenly everything makes sense. “And breaking and entering.”

“Actually, I did that the old school way, with a credit card.” Anne smiles. “You should really lock your deadbolt when you leave.”

It takes a few seconds for Ryo to understand why Anne is looking at him so fondly, then he notices his hand still on his belly. “It feels weird,” he says defensively. “Is this what girls feel when they’re pregnant?”

Anne bites her lip. “I wouldn’t know.”

Then Ryo remembers who _would_ know and can’t decide what’s worse — being pregnant or asking Meisa for advice. “I guess it can’t be helped,” he says, shrugging as he looks at her. “Better me than you, right?”

“There’s something we can do,” she says carefully, holding up a worn book that she’d brought with her. “I’ll have to drive out to my great grandmother’s land for the rarer ingredients, but there’s a spell…”

“What kind of spell?” Ryo asks curiously. “Does it make this more comfortable? Faster? Concealed?”

“There aren’t spells like that for real.” Anne stares down at her book and quietly adds, “It makes it go away.”

Silence. Ryo stares at her, torn between incredulity and rage, and his morals win out. “If it were you carrying it, is that what you would do?”

Her hair shakes from side to side. “But your career–”

“Fuck my career,” Ryo cuts her off, surprised at how angry he sounds. “I know this isn’t natural and I have no idea how I’m going to explain this to my boss, my parents, or my idiot friends, but the principle of the matter is that we’re having a baby, and, dammit, we’re having a baby.”

When she looks up at him, her eyes are glistening, and his nerves immediately calm down.

“I thought I was supposed to be the hormonal one here,” he teases her, and her smile is so innocent and genuine that he may have just fallen in love with her. “Please take care of me, Anne.”

She’s already flipping open her cell phone. “I have a distant relative who practices medicine. She’s kind of far away, but at least we won’t give some poor M.D. a heart attack. The spell should accommodate for the obvious differences — the lack of uterus, for one — but it wouldn’t hurt to get some pre-natals for your discom– why are you looking at me like that?”

Ryo bites back his grin. “Don’t your people use owls to communicate?”

Narrowing her eyes, Anne looks like she wants to smack him with the phone. “Harry Potter is _fiction_ ,” she hisses. “Do I look like I have a fucking wand? Magic is spells and enchantments, not battles and flying broomsticks–”

She stops short when she sees Ryo laughing, huffing as he reaches for her hand. “You’re cute when you get affronted.”

“You’re cute when you’re pregnant,” she retorts, and leans in to kiss the frown off his face.

*

The next few weeks are insane, and even more surreal. Johnny just rolls his eyes and speaks fondly of “Ken-chan,” who has always been kind of ridiculous when it comes to his daughter, like casting a magic spell to seahorse anyone who gets her pregnant is just overprotective parenting. He loads up the rest of Eito with other projects through the end of the year, moving up the ranger movie filming so that Ryo’s parts will be done before he starts showing, and Ryo leaves the meeting feeling even dizzier than usual.

“You’re welcome,” Jin says pointedly, and Ryo thinks his new found status as expectant mother gives him the right to punch Jin in the arm with no remorse. “When’s the wedding?”

“There is no wedding,” Ryo tells them, and there are three shocked gasps as he turns to glare at the most unlikely one. “Why do you even give a shit about my business?”

“Are you kidding?” Meisa replies, eyes wide and excited as she rubs her own extended belly. “This is more fascinating than anything I’ve seen on TV. How are you going to give birth?”

Jin snickers, and Ryo punches him again. “They’re going to cut it out. Obviously.”

“And Anne-san’s not going to make an honest man out of you?” Yamapi teases, but he’s pouting. “I thought you two had something special.”

Ryo sighs. “She hasn’t said anything about it, and I don’t know if I should bring it up first. I mean, this is completely backwards!”

“Well, wouldn’t you marry her if you’d knocked her up the conventional way?” Jin asks.

“Of course!” Ryo declares, then notices the amused look on Jin’s face. “And we did do it the conventional way, you ass.”

“With her father who he is, you should probably ask his permission,” Yamapi points out. “Though clearly triggering his spell doesn’t make you look very good.”

“Jin asked my father’s permission,” Meisa speaks up. “Daddy chased him down the street with a sword from his samurai collection.”

“You don’t have to tell them that,” Jin whispers to her, and Meisa’s grin turns wicked.

“I don’t think she wants to marry me,” Ryo admits quietly, unconsciously rubbing the small bump that’s starting to form in his abdomen. “Ever since this happened, it’s been all business. Making arrangements, mostly. We have like zero intimacy.”

Meisa makes a face at him. “Are you on hormone pills or something? I’m not even this sappy.”

“Anymore,” Jin amends, ducking out of the way when his wife moves to smack him. “Seriously, bro, just because you’re carrying the baby doesn’t mean all of your masculinity is stripped away. Tell her what you want, whatever it is, and work shit out together. That’s the only way you’re going to make it through this, as a couple _and_ as parents.”

“Girls aren’t mind readers either, you know,” Meisa adds.

“You two act like you’ve been married for more than a few months,” Ryo grumbles, but he can’t deny they have a point. “Fine, I’ll talk to her about it. Off my nuts now.”

“Do you still have those?” Jin asks seriously, and Ryo punches him _really_ hard.

“Hey, stop damaging my property,” Meisa calls out.

Both Yamapi and Ryo snicker at Jin’s pout. “If this is what I have to look forward to,” Ryo starts, “maybe I’ll wait around for Anne after all.”

“You may be waiting awhile,” Meisa says carefully. “I don’t know her, but if she’s anything like me, she needs a living person growing inside her to make her even remotely interested in settling down. Since you’re the one with the fetus, it may be more difficult to convince her.”

Suddenly Ryo thinks he understands every single girl in the world. And it scares the shit out of him.

“I’m jealous of her, though,” Meisa goes on. “Why couldn’t my father be magic? Jin would look so cute pregnant.”

Ryo ignores how Yamapi pokes Jin’s belly and makes jokes about sympathy weight in favor of his own concerns weighing down his heart. Aside from that first offer to make it “go away,” Anne’s never given Ryo any indication that she’s not in this for the long haul. But knowing she could walk away at any time with no obligation to him or the baby leaves him very unsettled, and he has an inkling of respect for Jin for taking responsibility and marrying Meisa, not that he’ll ever say it out loud.

Whether it’s the hormones speaking or not, Ryo wants a family for his son or daughter.

*

“So,” Ryo says conversationally, trying not to look at Anne as she channel surfs on his couch. “Are we, like, together?”

“Hmm?” she answers, eyes lighting up as she sees her father on TV. “Ah, that reminds me, I told my dad you tripped his spell.”

Ryo’s throat suddenly goes dry. “And?”

“And he wants us to get married,” Anne says simply. “He was actually amazed the spell worked properly. He didn’t believe me until I sent him your ultrasound on my phone.”

“What did you — you have my ultrasound on your phone?” Ryo asks incredulously.

“Well, yes.” Anne nudges him with her shoulder. “It’s my baby, too, you know.”

She looks solemn, and he abandons his apprehensions and leans over to look up at her. “I’m okay with getting married, Anne. In fact, I’m relieved your father doesn’t want to kill me.”

Her face twitches. “He wants to meet you, but he’s in America filming a movie and probably will be until the baby is born.”

“Anne,” Ryo says, earning her attention finally. “You’re evading the topic. Do you even want to get married?”

She doesn’t answer right away, and when she does, her eyes are apologetic. “No,” she finally says. “This happened and we have to deal with the consequences, but we can do it without getting married. Marriage is for two people in love. I’m not in love with you.”

Ryo feels like his heart was ripped out of his chest and curbed on the ground. “If it were in reverse–”

“I wouldn’t marry you even if I was the pregnant one,” Anne answers, raising her head and grabbing both of his hands. “I like you, Ryo, I really do. I want us to do this together, as Mom and Dad. But not husband and wife. At least not right now. Can you understand that?”

“I… no,” Ryo tells her honestly. “I _can’t_ understand that, because part of taking responsibility is getting married. Jin and Meisa–”

“I don’t care what other people do,” Anne cuts him off. “This is about you and me, not anyone else, and I’m sorry, I can’t marry you just because we’re having a baby together. I told my father the same thing and he said I was stubborn. Maybe I am. Please accept that about me and wait until I’m ready.”

Ryo pauses to collect his thoughts. He doesn’t see much of a difference in getting married now or later, but as long as she’s considering it, it’s better than the alternative. “Okay.”

“Aren’t you mad at me?” Anne explodes, and Ryo almost cowers from all of the emotion pouring from her eyes. “Don’t pretend everything is fine when it isn’t, Ryo. Let’s argue or scream it out or, like, punch pillows. You’re so _agreeable_ all the time. Do you think I’m going to leave you if we have a disagreement or something?”

“Yes,” Ryo says, leaning back against the couch to keep his back from twisting. His hand automatically goes to his belly bump, and he knows Anne sees it. “If we’re not married, there’s nothing keeping you here.”

“Idiot,” Anne spits, and Ryo is insulted until she’s in his lap, covering his hands with hers. “ _This_ keeps me here.”

He looks at her, actually stares into her eyes, her hair falling all around them like some kind of canopy, and he sees something he didn’t expect — fear. “I love you,” he says firmly.

The fear disappears, replaced by something much warmer, and Ryo feels it transferred to his body as she leans in to kiss him. Her thighs settle on either side of his, keeping her distance enough not to put pressure on his abdomen, which only works since she’s so much taller than him. Ryo keeps that observation to himself as he slides his hands up her arms and around her back, grabbing onto her shoulder blades and pulling her as close as he dares, and Anne makes a sweet noise in the back of her throat when Ryo licks her lips apart.

“Are you sure…” she whispers between kisses. “Isn’t it uncomfortable?”

“What? No.” Ryo drops his hands to her waist and rocks up against her, proving how comfortable he is. “I’m not pregnant in my _dick_.”

He feels her laugh vibrate his mouth and opens his eyes to see her biting his lip. “I didn’t know if it would, like, hurt or something.”

“Is that why you’ve been keeping your distance?” Ryo asks her. “Shit, woman, I thought you weren’t attracted to me anymore.”

She laughs again, but then kisses him harder. “I am very attracted to you,” she hisses against his lips. “Give me your hand and I’ll show you how much.”

Ryo’s body is already growing hotter before Anne’s fingers touch his and disappear under her skirt, where he can tell that she’s wet before he even bridges the edge of her panties. Her moan is encouraging and he slips under the fabric, spiralling one digit inside her, followed by another, and she starts bouncing with the force of someone who wants this really, really badly.

His other hand rushes to his own belt, but Anne beats him to it and pushes his pants down enough to suffice, drawing a groan from him as she strokes the length of his cock. She starts to sit up and reach for his wrist, but he halts her and retrieves his wallet from his back pocket.

“I don’t want to find out if this spell works twice,” Ryo explains to her questioning face, which hides a smile as he opens a condom and rolls it on.

Then he’s inside her, arching back against the couch while she rides him, and he ignores the little fluttering in his belly that he’s not entirely sure isn’t real. If it is, well, it seems that their unborn child is on his side here. Anne leans down to kiss him and he’s done for, knowing nothing but her and sex and love, the existence of a life inside him that they made together seeming to just escalate the whole experience.

Afterwards, she curls up on the couch with him, both of them cradling his abdomen that starts to push back, and they’re both so amazed that they sit there poking at it for an hour. They toss out ideas for names and predict what kind of child it will be, what kind of studies and sports it will like and whether they should subject it to the entertainment industry or keep it far, far away.

It’s just as good as being married, Ryo psychs himself into thinking. Except she’ll go back to her own place, eventually, and Ryo will be alone again.

*

“You’re kind of pathetic,” Shige says, sipping his apple juice because he refused to be the only one drinking.

“I don’t need you of all people to tell me that,” Ryo grumbles, flopping back on his couch. “What do you know, anyway? You have _no idea_ what I’m going through right now.”

“No one does,” Shige points out. “You’re a goddamn miracle of science. You could make so much money right now, yet you’re barricading yourself at home because you ‘can’t be seen in public like this’. God forbid people think you actually gained some weight.”

“Oh, write about it in your next book,” Ryo scoffs, and they both laugh. “I just don’t get her at all, man. And I’ve understood a _lot_ about women in the past five months.”

Shige shrugs. “I can’t help you there. The girls I date are usually more marriage-focused than I am.”

“Do you have to beat them away with sticks, too?” Ryo teases, and Shige rolls his eyes. “You fucking stud. I told you you’d get more ass after Pi and I left.”

There’s nothing sheepish about Shige’s cocky smirk, and Ryo feels strangely proud. “Koyama doesn’t like it, but he’ll get over it. Hurry up and have a baby for him to coo over so he gets off my case.”

“Trust me, I wish I could make it happen faster,” Ryo says, rubbing both sides of his abdomen. “You’d think that witches would be able to speed up the process or something.”

“I thought she didn’t like to be called a witch?” Shige asks deviously.

“Don’t tell her, then,” Ryo shoots back. “ _Magic_ , whatever. She _seahorsed_ me. Jin says that makes her the father, and just because she’s a woman doesn’t excuse her from the first duty of paternity.”

“Marriage,” Shige says with a nod. “I’m sure she’ll come around. She’d be dumb not to marry you.”

Ryo smiles and nudges Shige’s knee with his. “Thanks, Shige.”

“Don’t get all mushy,” Shige tries to resist, but Ryo’s already flopped onto his lap and Shige just sighs as he looks down at Ryo’s victorious face. “Do the hormones make you girlier or something?”

“If I say yes, will you stroke my hair?” Ryo replies. “I don’t have a wife to pay attention to me. I’m pitiful, right?”

“You really are shameless,” Shige mutters, but his fingers are already pushing Ryo’s hair off of his forehead, and Ryo’s eyes fall shut. “Oh, by the way, Tegoshi wants you to name it after him.”

“He would,” Ryo scoffs, and his head rocks with Shige’s silent laughter. “It’s a girl, though.”

“He probably doesn’t care either way,” Shige says. “Insufferable snob.”

“Hi pot, meet kettle,” Ryo jokes, and Shige pulls on a clump of his hair. “ _Ow_ , fucker. You shouldn’t hurt me; my baby mama can kick your ass.”

Shige lets go immediately, and Ryo turns his head from side to side in protest. Finally Shige gives in, and Ryo grins as fingers thread through his hair. “Do you want to feel her move?” he asks softly. “She’s kicking up a storm right now. She must like you.”

He doesn’t have to open his eyes to know that Shige’s are lighting up, and a hand appears on his belly next to his without any words from its owner. He hears a gasp as Ryo’s daughter punts his thumb, then Shige’s laugh rumbles through both of their bodies. “She could be a soccer player, like someone we know.”

“I’m not naming her Yuuko,” Ryo says firmly, and Shige laughs harder. “Anne doesn’t like traditional ‘-ko’ names, anyway. She’d probably rather name her Shigemi.”

Instantly the laughter ceases, and Shige’s touch becomes more affectionate. “That would be okay, too.”

“Don’t get mushy,” Ryo throws back at him, but his voice is falling faint and before Shige can retort, he’s fallen victim to Shige’s gentle fingers and succumbed to his exhaustion.

*

“I still don’t know why I have to watch this,” Ryo mutters in between doing the ridiculous breathing exercises with Meisa, who’s nearly twice as big as he is and ready to pop any day now.

“We’re bonding,” Meisa tells him with a shrug. “I don’t know. Jin said I should teach you stuff, but you already know how to be a bitch and manipulate men.”

“It’s true,” Ryo agrees. “I also don’t have a _vagina_ , so sitting here watching Lamaze videos is completely unnecessary.”

“No it’s not,” Meisa argues, patting her huge belly. “What if I go into labor right now? You’ll have to help me breathe.”

“Don’t even joke about that,” Ryo says, shuddering at the thought. “I can’t go outside like this. You’d have to wait for Jin. He and Anne aren’t far away–”

“Calm down,” Meisa interrupts him. “I’m not going to go into labor. My mother already said I’m going to be cursed with a late baby because I was two weeks late myself.”

“I’m so glad mine is scheduled,” Ryo says. “Though I don’t want to think about where it would come out.”

Meisa snorts. “That’s still funny, six months later.”

“Hey,” Ryo says suddenly, trying to sound nonchalant. “There is something you could help me with. How did you get Jin to marry you?”

“More like how could I have stopped him,” Meisa replies, looking fondly at her wedding ring. “We weren’t serious, you know, but the minute he found out I was pregnant, it was like a switch flipped inside him. First he went to my father, which didn’t end well, and we tied the knot like the next day. Don’t you already know all of this? You were at the courthouse with us.”

“Yeah, but…” Ryo sighs as he trails off.

“I told you this before. Anne’s not held to the same standard men are in her position.” Meisa shifts uncomfortably on the couch and makes a pained face. “You men, you instantly fall in love with anyone having your baby, and it’s _real_. I see it on Jin’s stupid lovesick face every day. It’s not the same for girls, at least girls like Anne and me; we need more than that to give ourselves to you guys.”

“Maybe I should be asking how he got _you_ to agree to it,” Ryo amends, amused.

“He didn’t give me much of a choice,” Meisa tells him pointedly. “I was dragged from his place to my father’s place to the courthouse, basically. It was never an option for me to _not_ marry him, and to be honest, it was that assertion that did it for me. And he loves me a lot, so I suppose I can love him, too.”

“How sweet,” Ryo teases, and Meisa moves to hit him. She stops midway, though, and Ryo peers at her. “Are you okay?”

“I lied,” she says smoothly. “I am going into labor. Call my husband, please.”

“Shit,” Ryo gasps, his hands shaking as he reaches for his phone to deliver the news to the soon-to-be-father. Jin’s girlish screech calms him down a lot, because a freaked-out Jin he can handle. “Be a man and come take your wife to the hospital,” he barks at him. “I’ll stay with her until you get here.”

That Lamaze video came in handy after all, Ryo thinks as he holds Meisa’s hand and places a towel on her forehead. “Where’s your bag?” he asks her.

“By the door,” she gets out, and Ryo looks over to make sure it’s still there. Jin’s not the best at foresight, but apparently he’s gotten better at it because there’s a fully packed bag waiting for them. “Be fucking glad you don’t have to do this, Ryo.”

“Oh, I am,” he assures her, cowering at her glare that looks even angrier with her face shining from sweat. “It’ll just be a few minutes, okay? Then hopefully Jin won’t get you all killed on the way to the hospital.”

“You’re bad at this,” Meisa huffs between breaths. “Just shut up.”

Ryo focuses on breathing with her instead, but when Jin finally falls into his own house, Anne isn’t the one accompanying him. It’s Yamapi, dangling his car keys around his finger and looking smug.

“Time for Tomoko-chan’s grand entrance!” Yamapi declares.

“I take it back,” Meisa hurls at Jin. “We’re not naming her after him. It’s annoying already.”

“I love you so much,” Jin tells her genuinely, looking down into her eyes. “Let’s go become parents.”

Ryo watches them leave as he puts on all of his disguise garb in preparation to follow, only a little jealous at the completely selfless, caring way Jin guides Meisa up into Akkun’s cab (complaining the whole way while Yamapi gets offended on his truck’s behalf). Anne’s already in her car, waiting for him since Ryo can’t drive comfortably anymore, and she appears so thoughtful that Ryo doesn’t speak at all. It’s silent the whole way home, which Ryo belatedly realizes is _her_ home, and he just looks at her questioningly as they pull to a stop.

“You shouldn’t miss this,” is all she says as she lugs him upstairs. “He’s practically your best friend.”

Ryo doesn’t know what she’s talking about until he’s being shoved into her bathroom, down onto the closed toilet lid and attacked with hairspray and makeup. “What are you doing.”

“Making you look socially-acceptable to be pregnant,” she answers smoothly, nodding in satisfaction at her work before pulling Ryo into her closet. “You’re small enough to fit into my dresses, I bet.”

He starts to narrow his eyes, but then she’s stuffing his bra and he sees another avenue. “You’re awfully good at this.”

Now she’s eyeballing him. “Some of us were late bloomers, okay.”

Grinning, Ryo lets her dress him up until he sees his reflection. “I look like a crack whore drag queen. Did you even do anything to my hair?”

“It’s the best I could do on short notice,” she says, frowning. “If you wear a scarf and leggings, no one will be able to tell.”

“Swing by my place on the way to the hospital,” is all he says. “I have a wig.”

As they get back into her car, Ryo can’t keep the smile off of his face, even when he catches a glimpse of himself in the side mirror. If he’s learned nothing else in his time with Anne, he’s learned that sometimes love is displayed in ways other than with words.

*

Shirota Yuu laughs at him for a full minute when they reach the private waiting room. “You look worse than the girls Jin brought home before he got married.”

“Don’t let Meisa hear you say that,” Ryo warns him. “How is she?”

“It’s started already,” Yamapi says, looking more excited than Ryo’s seen him in years. “Looks like Tomoko-chan is eager to see us all!”

“Boast more,” Ryo grumbles.

“What about you?” Yamapi turns it around. “Aren’t you naming your daughter Shigemi?”

“ _No_ ,” Ryo hisses, glancing towards Anne to see if she was listening. “And since when do you talk to Shige? Isn’t he all butthurt that you abandoned him?”

“That is _so_ last year,” Yamapi replies, rolling his eyes. “I talk to Shige all the time. I really liked his book.”

Ryo just shakes his head and turns towards Anne, who’s giving him an amused look. “I was mocking him, honestly. I would not decide on something like that without–”

“I like it,” Anne interrupts. “Nishikido Shigemi. What kanji does your friend have for his name?”

“He doesn’t have one any — wait, did you say Nishikido?” Ryo asks, his heart beating out of his chest.

“Yes?” Anne answers, looking confused. “Isn’t that your name?”

“Yeah, but…” Ryo licks his lips habitually. “We’re not married. Shouldn’t we hyphenate or something?”

“Ryo, _I_ don’t even use my last name,” Anne tells him. “Why would I give it to our daughter? Let’s keep it simple.”

“Okay,” Ryo says slowly, then realizes what he just agreed to. “Shit, I’m never going to live this down. ‘Yuuko’ would have been better.”

Anne wrinkles her nose. “I don’t like that one. Shigemi has a good feeling. I’m magic, so this means something.”

Ryo flops down into a hospital chair. “Fuck, these things are uncomfortable.”

Instantly Yamapi’s standing behind him, rubbing his shoulders, and Anne looks like she’s trying not to laugh at the way Ryo’s face falls lax. “Something you want to tell me, _dear_?” she asks teasingly.

“You wish,” he gets out, and Yamapi laughs from above him. “My back is killing me and Pi’s my bitch. That’s all.”

Shirota’s snort sounds from across the room as Yamapi squeezes his shoulder particularly tight, wrenching a yelp out from Ryo, but Anne’s amusement has ceased. “I could do that for you, you know. I give really good backrubs. All you had to do was ask.”

“All I want you to do is marry me,” Ryo blurts out without thinking, and Yamapi’s hands pause at the same time Ryo’s eyes fly open.

“Do you really want to fight about this now?” Anne asks him, hands on hips in front of him. “I’ve already gotten a lecture from my father, my best friend, and _your_ best friend. I don’t need it from you, too.”

“Which of my friends lectured you?” Ryo asked, casting accusatory eyes up at Yamapi.

“The one who speaks from experience,” Anne answers, and Ryo drops his gaze. “Only it’s not the same experience as mine. I’m sorry, Ryo, I–”

“I _know_ ,” Ryo stops her before she can say anything hurtful. His hands fly to his belly, where their daughter (Shigemi, he thinks bitterly) is protesting this entire conversation by doing what feels like somersaults in Ryo’s abdomen.

“I think we should move in together,” is Anne’s next statement, and it’s so nonsensical that Ryo just stares at her. “Not your place, not mine — somewhere neutral. Somewhere that can be both of ours.”

“Okay,” he agrees slowly, watching her carefully as she kneels by his chair. “But why?”

“Because I’m warming up to the idea,” she explains, resting her head on his baby bump. “And I can’t marry anyone I can’t live with.”

Ryo tries not to smile too big. “It’s not fair to judge my housekeeping habits when I’m in the third trimester of pregnancy.”

“Let me have my logic, please,” she says, and he pulls her the remaining distance to his mouth.

He kisses her slowly, a sealed deal, and her hands rest on his arms as he brings his to her face. It’s such an intimate moment that he forgets where he is, at least until someone knees the back of his chair.

“You know,” Shirota says, leering at them, “with Ryo-chan looking like a chick, this is kind of hot.”

Ryo starts to pull away to snap at him, but Anne wraps her arms around his neck and demands his attention. After a few minutes, Yamapi huffs and announces, “I’m going to wait with Akkun.”

“His infatuation with that truck is so unhealthy,” Ryo says, and Shirota grunts in agreement as Anne laughs into their kiss.

*

“I told you so,” Jin sing-songs as they traipse through the mall, buying out nearly every baby store in preparation for baby Nishikido’s arrival.

“Anytime you want to stop saying that,” Ryo says pointedly, flipping his fake hair over his shoulder. He’d gone for platinum blonde today, for the same reason he has peacock eyelashes — if he’s going to be waddling around in public dressed like a girl, he’s going to do it like a boss.

“These strollers come in handy,” Yamapi comments as he places his Starbucks in the cup holder and slips his bags onto the handles. “I should get one of these.”

“It won’t fit in your truck,” Ryo says, snickering.

“ _Anything_ will fit in that truck,” Yamapi retorts, and both Jin and Ryo make grossed-out faces.

“I feel like a lesbian,” Anne whispers excitedly, looking down at where she’s holding hands with Ryo. “I wonder if I’ll get some interesting rumors out of this.”

“Can’t be any more interesting than the truth,” Jin points out. “Have you guys thought about what you’re going to tell the public yet? Most of Eito’s fans have already speculated that Ryo’s pregnant, just from alien abduction.”

“As expected from our fans,” Ryo says proudly, then smacks Jin on the arm. “And stop Googling us, idiot. Didn’t you learn the first time?”

“Stop _hitting_ me,” Jin whines. “What kind of example are you setting for my daughter?”

“Your daughter is five weeks old,” Ryo shoots back. “She only likes you because you feed her.”

Jin pouts. “That’s not true.”

“Ooh, let’s go in here!” Ryo exclaims, pulling Anne into the same store where he’d suffered through Jin and Yamapi’s pink sparkle explosion earlier this year. By the time they’re done, there’s a rainbow of onesies and cute pattered baby clothes, but absolutely no sequins.

Nothing can be shinier than the crib they have at their new home, anyway.

*

The day that Nishikido Shigemi is scheduled to be born, the first snow falls upon Tokyo. But Ryo’s in Kita Akita, at some hospital in the middle of nowhere with Anne’s distant doctor relative ready to cut him open.

He’s damn glad, too. He feels like he’s been carrying around a basketball filled with lead. The first thing he’s going to do after it’s gone is sleep on his stomach. Then he’s going to drink a case of beer. Maybe.

His parents are out in the waiting room, along with his sister and both of his brothers, Anne’s father, Jin and his new family, and Yamapi. They’d all ridden the train together, mostly cooing over the baby Tomoko and how beautiful she is. Jin and Meisa may be the most gorgeous people on the planet, Ryo thinks, but his daughter will be much prettier than theirs. His daughter will be better at everything than theirs, actually. He’s decided this already.

Only Anne is in the room with him, holding his hand even though it’s not really necessary. It’s all so anti-climatic since Ryo’s body doesn’t seem to care much that there’s been something growing inside it, nor that it’s about to come out. Still she stays with him, gently pushing his hair out of his face, and he looks up at her through the entire procedure he can’t even feel due to the anesthesia.

Then he hears a sharp cry, loud and piercing and he can’t stop the grin from spreading on his face as he turns to face the front.

“She’s very small,” the doctor’s saying, “even though she went full term. But other than that, she’s okay.”

“Aw, she takes after her father,” Anne teases, but Ryo just squeezes her hand as he catches sight of his perfect baby girl reaching out with her tiny hands and suddenly he can’t see clearly anymore.

“Stupid hormones,” he mumbles, bringing his hands to his eyes, but Anne’s already there with a tissue.

“Good work, dear,” Anne whispers, pressing her lips to his forehead and he can’t tear his eyes away from his daughter long enough to acknowledge her. She’s even more beautiful close up, settling in his arms as Ryo takes in her tufts of dark hair and deep, deep brown eyes.

“You shouldn’t call me that,” he finally says to Anne. “I may get the wrong idea.”

“Or the right one,” she corrects, and he’s confused until she pulls out a box from behind her back. “I know a minister in the area, too.”

His hands are busy, so she cracks open the box and Ryo stops moving at the sight of the two golden rings. “Oh, no. _No_.”

“No?” Anne repeats, looking like she’s ready to burst into tears and tell him off at the same time.

“No,” Ryo confirms, giving her a hard look. “This whole time, everything has been backwards between us. You got to experience everything I should have experienced here. I will _not_ let you take this away from me, too.”

Anne blinks as Ryo snatches the box from her without disrupting their daughter.

“Watanabe Anne,” Ryo begins, “will you marry me?”

Before Anne can answer, Shigemi shrieks, and they’re both laughing as Anne nods. “Yes, you strange father of my child, I’ll marry you.”

She leans down to kiss him, and Shigemi manages to scream even louder.

“Definitely has your voice,” Jin’s voice sounds from the doorway. “Oh, are we interrupting?”

“Nothing that shouldn’t have happened nine months ago,” Ryo mutters.

“Three,” Anne amends. “Maybe five, tops.”

Suddenly there’s a sea of bodies in the room, Ryo’s eye never leaving his daughter as she’s passed from person to person, even when his future father-in-law is offering them his blessing. Everyone laughs when Shigemi punches Tomoko’s blanket (“Like father, like daughter,” Meisa notes), and Ryo’s about to kick everyone out so he can sleep when he hears a voice he didn’t expect.

“When’s the last time you changed the oil in that thing?” Shige’s bitching as he throws a set of keys at Yamapi. “I’m surprised it made it the entire way here without dying. Next time you can drive it and be late because you can’t go over sixty-five.”

“Don’t talk about Akkun like that!” Yamapi exclaims, but Shige’s attention is on the smallest person in the room.

“She’s so small,” Shige breathes, “just like her dad.”

He’s close enough to kick, but Ryo can’t feel his legs. “Don’t be a dick when I named my daughter after you.”

Jin carefully transfers the baby to Shige’s arms, and Shige lights up like she’s his own. “Now namesake, since you are clearly destined for greatness, you need to live up to it and give your father a hard time whenever you can.”

Ryo lets him have his moment, leaning his head on his future wife’s shoulder as they watch their loved ones fawn over their newborn baby girl, fingers laced with the box of rings sitting on his now deflated chest. They’ll be wearing them soon enough.

He pretends not to see Yamapi slip out of the room, keys in hand. Everyone deserves a happy ending, after all.


End file.
